Door hanging gauge



April 15, 1958 F. w. MYERS DOOR HANGING GAUGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 50, 1957 INVENTUR. FRED W. MYERS JZWZW A fforneys P 15, 1958 F. w. MYERS 2,830,379

DOOR HANGING GAUGE Filed April 30, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 32 37 D 37 32 D I v VENTUQ. FRED w. MYERS MW/JM United States Patent DOOR HANGING GAUGE Fred W. Myers, Florence, Oreg.

Application April 30, 1957, Serial No. 656,082

3 Claims. (Cl. 33-194) This invention relates to improvements in door hanging gauges, and the principal object thereof is to provide a gauge which, in addition to being used for locating the position of hinges on the door and door casing to provide a top clearance for the door, has improved structure to determine the length of the door to fit said door in the casing with proper bottom clearance.

A further object is to provide a door hanging gauge which is simplified in its construction and usage and is economical to manufacture.

More specific objects are to provide a gauge of the type described having telescoping sections and clamp means therefor which facilitate rapid and easy length adjustment of the gauge, having pivotal flanged tongue means adapted to engage the top edge of the door for locating said gauge in a door length marking position, and having means for adjusting the longitudinal position of said tongue means for varying the length of a door relative to a door opening.

These objects are accomplished by a structure comprising a pair of telescoping body sections providing for length adjustment to accommodate doors of different height. These two sections are held in length adjustment by suitable clamp means and support marking heads for marking hinge locations on the door and door casing. One of these sections carries an end lip which serves to provide top clearance for the door and this section also carries an adjustable tongue member which serves to position the gauge on the door edge to provide a length measurement for the door with a proper bottom clearance.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred form of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the invention may take other forms, and that all such modifications and variations within the scope of the appended claims which will occur to persons skilled in the art are included in the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a door casing with the present gauge fitted therein in readiness for making reference marks for the hinges on the casing, said gauge being shown in side elevation;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevational view of one end of the gauge, a portion of the gauge being broken away to show the telescoping relation of the two sections;

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, showing clamp structure for holding the two telescoping sections in length adjustment;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the clamp structure mentioned with parts broken away, taken on the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of marking head structure;

Figure 6 is an end view of the marking head of Figure 5 with the body section supporting the head being shown in section;

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Figure 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of a door showing the gauge applied to the hinge edge thereof for making hinge location marks;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary elevational view of a door with the gauge applied thereto for providing a cut-off mark at the bottom of the door; and

Figure 9 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line 99 of Figure 2, showing means for adjusting the length measuring tongue member of the gauge.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the present gauge is used in the hanging of a door D in a casing C. This gauge comprises a first section or body portion 10 having an internal bore 11, Figure 2, for slidably receiving a second section or bar member 12. As best seen in Figures l and 3, the body portion 10 has side slots 14 which widen toward the bottom of the gauge, and with this split body arrangement, the two parts thereof are capable of being compressed on the bar 12 by means of a clamp 16 located adjacent the lower end of said body portion. The gauge sections are illustrated as being rectangular but such shape is not to be assumed as a limitation. Clamp 16 receives the body portion 10 and has slots 17 in a pair of opposite side walls for receiving tongues 18 of a pressure plate 19 slidably operated by a thumbscrew 20 threaded in a wall of the clamp.

Mounted on the bar 12 is a pair of marking heads 22 comprising a pair of channel-shaped strap members 23, one of which has a transverse chisel edge 24. Each of the straps 23 is equipped with projecting ears or lugs 25 for receiving clamp screws 26 to clamp the strap parts firmly on the bar 12.

Mounted on the top end of the body portion 10 is a head member 28 also having a chisel edge 29 which projects in the same direction as the chisel edges 24 on the marking heads. The longitudinal spacing of the three chisel edges may vary depending upon the size of door being hung, with the marking heads 22 being adjustably positioned in appropriate spaced relation as desired.

Head member 28 is channel shaped, having a pair of side walls 30 and a connecting wall 31. This head terminates at its upper end in a right angle lip or flange portion 32 which projects in the same direction as the chisel edges. The lip 32 has a pre-determined thickness and, as will be seen, the thickness thereof determines the clearance space between the top of the door and the casing.

Adjacent the lip end of the head 28 and in the wall 31 is an aperture 35, and mounted longitudinally in the head 28 is a narrow plate or tongue 36 having an end lip or flange 37 adapted to project through the aperture 35. The opposite end of the tongue 36 1s also flanged to form a finger tab 34, and this tongue is secured at the bend thereof to a sleeve 38 rotatably mounted on an eccentric circular cam or pin 39. The cam 39 is integrally supported on a bolt 40 mounted on the side walls 31 of the head 28, and this bolt has a nut 41 which may be tightened thereon to securely anchor the eccentric in a set cammed position between the walls 31. The eccentric 39 provides for longitudinal adjustment of the tongue 36 in the head 28 and, as will be seen hereinafter, adjustment of this tongue is for varying the overall length of a door relative to a door opening and, consequently, varying the clearance at the bottom of the door. The sleeve 38 is slightly shorter than the cam 39 so that it can rotate on the cam even though the cam is locked against rotation between the walls 30 in the tightened position of the nut 41 on the bolt 40.

To properly locate the position of hinges on the casing C and on the door D, as well as to determine the proper overall length of the door, the device is first placed vertically in the door opening and adjusted to the height of said opening, Figure 1, the thumbscrew 20 being loosened so that the telescoping parts can be readily longitudinally adjusted. In this initial step the gauge is placed at the hinge side of the casing with the chisel edges 24 and 29 against the casing, and, after the thumbscrew is tightened, a light tap is made on the gauge behind the chisel edges to make a mark on the casing. Each of these marks designates a reference point for hinge seats.

After the door casing has been properly marked as described, the gauge is then placed on the hinge edge of the door, as shown in Figure 7, with the lower surface of the lip 32 engaging the top corner edge of the door, the tongue 36 being rotated backwardly sufficiently to permit the overlapping engagement of the lip 32 on the door top. Thereupon, hinge reference marks on the door are made by tapping the gauge behind the chisel edges, and it will thereby be seen that when the door is hung the clearance at the top will be the thickness of lip 32. Thereupon, the gauge is moved away from the door a slight amount and the tongue 36 pivoted clockwise, Figures 7-9, to a position wherein the lip 37 projects through the aperture 35.

Rotation of the tongue 36 between its two positions is readily accomplished by finger'manipulation of the tab 34. After the tongueis rotated to a position where the lip 37 projects through the aperture 35, the gauge is again seated on the hinge edge of the door with the lower surface of the lip 37 engaging the top corner edge of the door, Figure 8. This re-positioning of the gauge on the door causes said gauge to move upwardly somewhat relative to its first position, and the door is marked and cut off at the bottom of the gauge whereby the extent of longitudinal upward movement of the gauge between its first and second positions determines the bottom clearance for the door, the cut-off line being shown in phantom and being designated by the numeral 43.

It will thereby be seen that the thickness of the lip 32 determines the clearance at the top of the door and the distance between the lower surface of this lip and the lower surface of the lip 37 determines the clearance at the bottom of the door, and to vary this latter clearance the eccentric 39 may be rotatably adjusted to move the plate 36 to a desired longitudinal position.

By means of the present gauge the marking of hinge positions on the door casing and the door becomes a simplified operation, and with the structure thereof, which facilitates accurate marking for the overall length of the door, the door will hang free with proper clearance at both the top and bottom. The device may be used for either right-hand or left-hand opening doors and has considerable amount of length adjustment so as to be useful in the hanging of almost all sizes of doors.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A gauge for hanging a door in a door casing comprising a pair of telescoping sections clamped together for length adjustment, a stationary right angle flange on the upper end of said gauge engageable with the top edge of said door in one position of the gauge for determining the top clearance between said door and said casing, means on said gauge for making hinge reference marks on said door and easing, a rotatable tongue on said gauge extending longitudinally of said gauge, said tongue having an end flange projecting in the same direction as said stationary flange and disposed a selected distance below said stationary flange, said tongue flange being engageable with the top edge of said door for locating said gauge in an adjusted door length marking position.

2. A gauge for hanging a door in a door casing comprising a pair of sections clamped together for length adjustment, a stationary right angle flange on the upper end of said gauge engageable with the top edge of said door in one position of the gauge for determining the top clearance between said door and said casing, means on said gauge for making hinge locating marks on said door and easing, a rotatable tongue on said gauge extending longitudinally of said gauge, said tongue having an end flange projecting in the same direction as said stationary flange and disposed a selected distance below said stationary flange, said tongue flange being engageable with the top edge of said door for locating said gauge in an adjusted door length marking position, and adjustment means engageable with said tongue for locating said tongue in-selected positions to vary a marking length of said door.

3. A gauge for hanging a door in a door casing comprising a pair of sections clamped together for length adjustment, a stationary right angle flange on the upper end of said gauge engageable with the top edge of said door in one position of the gauge for determining the top clearance between said door and said casing, means on said gauge for making hinge locating marks on said door and casing, an eccentric pin rotatably mounted in said gauge and having non-rotative adjusted positions, and a tongue pivotally mounted on said pin and being longitudinally adjusted by selected rotative positions of said eccentric pin, said tongue having an end flange projecting in the same direction as said stationary flange and disposed a selected distance below said stationary flange, said tongue flange being engageable with the top edge of said door for locating said gauge in an adjusted door length marking position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

